BJP objects to Chawla's presence in EC hearing

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, Apr 11: The BJP has for the first time raised objection to the presence of Mr Navin Chawla, one of the Election Commissioners who is to hear the petition demanding the derecognition of the party as a political body.

BJP Spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said the party had brought to the notice of the Election Commission the petition by 205 MPs to the President complaining about Mr Chawla and the issue was pending before the Supreme Court.

Since the Congress and Communist parties had been demanding an 'Interim Order' from the EC, there was reasonable possibility that the person might take a ''biased view'' in the quasi-judicial hearing and hence he should not hear the petition, the BJP contended.

The EC has asked the BJP to give its objections to the Commission in writing which the party would submit tomorrow, Mr Prasad said.

The party had also told the EC about the practice prevailing in developed democracies like United Kingdom and the United States besides India.

Mr Prasad accused the Congress and all other parties of ganging up against the BJP and attempting to politicise the issue by seeking derecognition of the BJP because they had no stakes in the elections. The Bahujan Samaj Party, Jan Morcha and Samajwadi Party had joined the issue although the EC notice on circulation of the CD was between the Commission and the BJP.

Asked about Union Minister Kapil Sibal's charge that the BJP was circulating the offensive CDs in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Mr Prasad said it was a ''total humbug''.

''We have withdrawn the CD even before the EC's intervention and the person responsible for the lapse was identified and punished.'' Meanwhile, Mr Sibal has described BJP's objection to Mr Chawla presence on the EC's panel as ''diversionary tactic'' to buy time.

The FIR against the CD's production and distribution was filed by the police and not EC and, therefore, the BJP should not have raised Mr Chawla's issue, he said.

UNI

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